T he approximately 60,000 Beni-Amur are nomadic or semi-nomadic herders who live in the East Horn Culture Area designated by Herskovits in his 1924 treatise on the culture areas of Africa. They are a subgroup of the Beja, a people closely related to the ancient Egyptians who occupy the area between the Nile, the Atbara, and the Red Sea, which includes northwestern Eritrea in Ethiopia and west central Sudan. The Beni-Amur have possessed camels probably for only some 2000 years, and this animal has given them greater command over desert life than their early forbears ever had; thus, they occupy areas that formerly must have been uninhabitable. In the past, these lowland pastoralists found sufficient grazing lands to support large herds of camels, goats, and sheep, as long as they migrated seasonally between the regions of summer and winter rains. Although historically travel was dangerous and men were confined to their tribal units, urban development has led to the increased importance of trips to the village markets, which are undertaken only a few times a year. Townspeople and herders are beginning to mingle, although uneasily, and as towns become a greater part of Beni-Amur life, there may be less need to rely on the grazing unit. Today, however, whether it be goats, cows, sheep or camels, the grazing unit still functions as the source of income, and much value is placed on it. Marriage continues to be effected by a dowry of animals. A tribesman will sell an animal to obtain currency with which to purchase his clothing, beads, perfume, swords, knives, spears, sandals, amulets, safety pins, kohl, and a few other personal items. His annual cash income is probably much below the Ethiopian average yearly income, estimated by the United Nations in 1960 at $46.00 U.S. During 1962-1964 when I lived in Agordat in Eritrea, I became friendly with Abdul Wahab Nur Rahman, an Arab merchant who had a stall in the Bahakim Scuderia. The Scuderia is a large covered shed in the middle of the market where tribesmen go to barter or to purchase items. Abdul's stall was situated next to an entry door in the Scuderia, and his days were spent selling safety pins, cloth belts for men's pants, perfume, Tagias (skull caps), an assortment of herbs and spices, and beads made of amber, agate, sandalwood, ebony and glass. The Beni-Amur men I observed at the market wore rubber sandals carved from